Philly's interim police commissioner says city has needs that need to be addressed now
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There's a new top cop in the City of Philadelphia.
John Stanford started his first full week as interim police commissioner on Monday, and there is a lot he wants to get done to make the city safer.
Stanford sat down with Action News anchor Sharrie Williams for a one-on-one interview.
"Community, cops and crime." Those are the three priorities for Stanford as he now leads the fourth-largest police department in the country.
"Start with community because we all come from that, right? Even our officers, they're not born as police officers, they come from a community. I say my cops, put them in the middle because they get pulled in so many directions. But making sure they're OK, their well-being, their morale," said Stanford. "And obviously the crime, focusing on what we need to do, as I said not just about violent crime because there's so many other crimes that impact so many people across the city."
Stanford acknowledges the city has a significant gun violence problem, but he wants citizens to know the hard work is in motion and violence is trending down.
"There are too many people shot in our city, but to know our homicides are down around 19% right now, it's been hovering around that 19% to 20%. Our shooting victims are down 24%. It's not a victory by any stretch of the imagination, but it gives us hope, and hopefully, it gives citizens in this city some hope, understanding things are turning around."
Stanford made it clear that while crime is down, it means very little until it lines up with the feelings of everyday residents. In short, Philadelphians have to regain their confidence that the city is safe. Stanford says he has a personal connection to that sentiment.
"My family lives in the city. My mother lives in the city. The fact that she doesn't feel safe despite knowing the work that her son is doing each and every day means I have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of work to do," he says.
Stanford fully understands the next mayor will decide if he stays on as the long-term commissioner, but he says the needs of this city are urgent and he intends to lead now.
"We can't wait until an election, there's too many lives being lost in the city. You know, as of today, again, the numbers are down, but we still have 321 people murdered in the city. And so it would be insane to think that we can wait or stand by."
